Surrealism began in the 1920s as an artistic movement that aimed to represent unconscious thoughts and dreams through techniques like automatic drawing. Key figures like Andre Breton and Salvador Dali created dreamlike works using elements of surprise and free association. While initially focused on automatism, later Surrealist art depicted meticulously rendered hallucinatory scenes. Feminist critics argue that Surrealism marginalized women's roles, and Freudian critics believe the unconscious cannot be directly expressed through art.

1. Surrealism “ I believe in the future resolution of these two states, dream and reality, a surreality, if one may so speak.” –Andre breton- First Surrealist Manifesto.

2. What is Surrealism? The word surrealism comes from the French word super realism. The Surrealists wanted to create art that included their unconscious thoughts and dreams. Instead of thinking too much about what they are painting, they preferred to set their imaginations free.

3. Giorgio di Chirico The Child’s Brain 1914

4. Surrealist Manifesto The Surrealism movement began in 1924 with Andre Breton’s Surrealist Manifesto. “ Psychic automatism in its pure state, by which one proposes to express -- verbally, by means of the written word, or in any other manner -- the actual functioning of thought. Dictated by the thought, in the absence of any control exercised by reason, exempt from any aesthetic or moral concern.” –Andre Breton

5. Historical Context The Surrealism movement was influenced by the ideas of Freud. It grew out of the Dadaism movement in many respects. Many artists were influenced by major events such as World War I and the Great Depression.

6. Characteristics General Characteristics include: the element of surprise free association uncensored thought dream-like subject matter spontaneous techniques Examples: automatic drawing, frottage, and decalcomania. However, Surrealism was a very individualistic movement and each artist added their own style and meaning.

7. Automatic Surrealism In the beginning of the Surrealism movement, one technique of Surrealism, Automatic Surrealism, was prominent. It was used as a means to illustrate the subconscious. In this art, the hand can move freely and randomly across the canvas. Max Ernst coined the term frottage, which is also used in this automatic style of Surrealism.

8. Automatic Drawing Andre Automatic Drawing 1924 Automatic drawing- moving a pencil or brush randomly across the canvas.

9. Frottage Isaac Bingham Palm Tree Frottage Frottage- A pencil rubbing made by putting paper over a textured surface.

10. Decalcomania Oscar Dominguez Untitled Decalcomania- pressing textured material or objects into a wet, painted canvas.

11. Andre Messon Meditation on an Oak Leaf

12. Andre Masson Battle of the Fishes 1927

13. Joan Miro, Carnival of Harlequin , 1924

14. Joan Miro The Hunter (Catalan Landscape) 1923-1924

15. Max Ernst After The Rain

16. Max Ernst Gray Forest 1927

17. Illustionistic Dream Imagery The automatism used by Masson and Miro, and Ernst’s “frottage” technique dominated the first year of the Surrealism movement. However, artists like Rene Magritte, Yves Tanguy, and Salvador Dali emerged with a new style in Surrealism. Quite different from previous artists, these artists focused on hallucinatory and fantastic subject matter in meticulously and realistically portrayed images.

18. Salvador Dali The Persistence of Memory

19. Salvador Dali Temptation of Anthony

20. Salvador Dali Sleep 1937

21. Salvador Dali Autumnal Cannibalism 1936

22. Rene Magritte The Lovers 1928

23. Rene Magritte Le Faux Mirior 1928

24. Rene Magritte The Son of Man 1964

25. Rene Magritte The Treachery of Images 1929

26. Yves Tanguy Mama, Papa is Wounded! 1927

27. Yves Tanguy Indefinite Divisibility 1942

28. Yves Tanguy Extinction of Useless Lights 1927

29. Feminist Criticisms of Surrealism Feminists claim that the Surrealist movement was fundamentally a male movement despite the occasional few celebrated female Surrealist painters and poets. They believe that it adopts typical male attitudes towards women. For example, many artists portrayed women in a stereotypical way, following sexist norms. A pioneer of the feminist critique of surrealism was Xaviere Gauthier. Her book, Surrealisme et Sexualite inspired the importance of scholarship related to marginalization of women in relation to the avant-garde. The criticisms were of women having much more subordinate roles in comparison with the men.

30. Freudian Criticism Freud initiated the psychoanalytic critique of Surrealism that stated that he was more interested in the Surrealist conscious rather than the unconscious. In this view the Surrealists may have created great works but they were products of the conscious, not the unconscious mind. The unconscious cannot express itself automatically, but can only be uncovered through the analysis of resistance and transference in the psychoanalytic process.

31. Surrealist Film http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVbTEVfLksU

32. THIS IS NOT MR. READ!! Applications of Surrealist Techniques…